Job 5:9
in Job 5the One who does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Who doeth great things and unsearchable, Marvellous things without number:
KJV
Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number:
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This verse in Job 5
Commentary
10 notes on this verseEliphaz acknowledges that God is the ruler and creator of all things. It is likely that he has these convictions. He is a man who possesses wisdom in human things. Eliphaz also has an understanding of the invisible and visible, since he speaks of the …
This site's exposition
I would appeal to God
on Job 5:8-9
Eliphaz now gives counsel any reader of the book could follow, "I would appeal to God and lay my cause before Him". Gill notes that words for God's unsearchable and wonderful works belong to the vocabulary the whirlwind speeches use in chapters 38 to 41.
This site's exposition
wonders without number
Barnes reads the praise as the reason Eliphaz gives for laying a cause before God. Didymus the Blind credits Eliphaz with a true knowledge of God as the One who does great things, ruler and maker of all. Job repeats this line almost word for word at Job 9:10.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Note that those who deny providence say that everything which appears in the world occurs from the necessity of natural causes, for example, the necessity of heat and cold, of gravity and lightness or something like this. Divine providence is most powerfully demonstrated by those …
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
The works of nature are mysteries: the most curious searches come far short of full discoveries: and the works of Providence are still more deep and unaccountable.
Which doeth great things,....
That the afflictions which are borne well will end well; and Job particularly, if he would come to a better temper, might assure himself that God had great mercy in store for him,
We must not pretend to pass a judgment upon his works, for they are unsearchable and above our enquiries; nor must we strive with our Maker, for he will certainly be too hard for us, and is able to crush us in a moment. [2.] To encourage Job to seek unto God, and to refer his cause to him. What more encouraging than to see that he is one to whom power belongs?
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Which doeth great things - No work, however complicated, is too deep for his counsel to plan; none, however stupendous, is too great for his power to execute. He who is upright is always safe in referring his cause to God, and trusting in him.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Which doeth great things - The object of this is, to show why Job should commit his cause to God. The reason suggested is, that he had showed himself qualified to govern the world by the great and wonderful acts which he performed. Eliphaz, therefore, proceeds to expatiate on what God had done, and thus states the ancient belief in regard to his sovereignty over the world. This strain of reasoning continues to the end of the chapter.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Who gives rain upon the face of the land The land of Israel.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עֹשֶׂ֣ה | ʾoseh | [who] does | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| גְ֭דֹלוֹת | gedolot | great [things] | H1419 → | 526 times |
| וְאֵ֣ין | veein | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| חֵ֑קֶר | cheker | [is] inquiry | H2714 → | 12 times |
| נִ֝פְלָא֗וֹת | niflaot | wonders | H6381 → | 71 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| אֵ֥ין | ʾein | there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| מִסְפָּֽר׃ | mispar | [is] number | H4557 → | 134 times |
עֹשֶׂ֣ה[who] does
ʾosehH6213 →2628 times
גְ֭דֹלוֹתgreat [things]
gedolotH1419 →526 times
וְאֵ֣יןand there not
veeinH369 →789 times
חֵ֑קֶר[is] inquiry
chekerH2714 →12 times
נִ֝פְלָא֗וֹתwonders
niflaotH6381 →71 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
אֵ֥יןthere not
ʾeinH369 →789 times
מִסְפָּֽר׃[is] number
misparH4557 →134 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 40:5Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders You have done, and the plans You have for us— none can compare to You— if I proclaim and declare them, they are more than I…
it leads to
- Exodus 15:11
Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? Who is like You—majestic in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.
- Psalms 139:17–18
How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God, how vast is their sum!
- Psalms 71:15
My mouth will declare Your righteousness and Your salvation all day long, though I cannot know their full measure.
- Psalms 92:5
How great are Your works, O LORD, how deep are Your thoughts!
- Exodus 15:11
Through
Job 9:10He does great things beyond searching out, and wonders without number.
it leads to
- Psalms 72:18
Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Romans 11:33
O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 72:18
Through
Psalms 72:18Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds.
it leads to
- Psalms 41:13
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.
- Psalms 41:13
Where this verse is studied
About Job
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Didymus the Blind, COMMENTARY ON JOB 5:9-10; Didymus the Blind, Commentary on Job; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.